Strategies for rare/occasional

from Stardock Forums
My preferred galaxy configuration makes the early game more interesting, as I can't just send the colony ships out in random directions and expect to find Terra Nova. It causes real problems by increasing the value of the computer players' knowledge of the best stars. OK, so I need to (a) find the good worlds, (b) be able to reach them, and (c) get there first. In that order.

In my past couple of games I've experimented with Stellar Cartography. Clearly there's no point researching it after the colony rush has ended. But what about setting research to 100% on turn 1, and making a beeline for the tech? Obviously if my initial survey vessel or colony ship finds a good world, I'll put the research program on hold while I crank out a quick colony ship. And I'll spill over into military spending whenever my current tech will be "completed next turn".

So far, it seems to have worked for me. The time taken to research compares well to the time taken to build a scout and visit all the nearby stars. I can plan stage (b) quite early in the game. Speed picks help with stage (c), plus Earth's 2 billion people can work pretty fast! It's also much easier to find the computer players.


~SDC~
2,164 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, I think the initial rush is overrated. I look for a map that has some isolation so I don't lose to cultural flopping too soon. I might save, explore, then map-out a colonizing strategy. Otherwise, I don't much care how many planets I start with. Lately, getting the initial rush over with quickly has become more of a priority for me, so I can begin building my economy sooner. Secondly, I look for a concentration of good (18+) planets in a couuple sectors.

Funny thing, but the number of planets you start with has much less impact on the game IMHO than the equality of the planets the AI's end up with. If they are more-or-less balanced (and stay at war with each other) and you can survive through to the middle game, you certainly have a chance to win.

Also, I think speed picks are way too expensive. After the first two dozen turns what good are they? Cultural, morale, and diplo picks increase in value as the game goes on.

Good Luck!
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Also, I think speed picks are way too expensive. After the first two dozen turns what good are they?
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I disagree. Speed picks are balanced enough. On tight clusters, they don't matter much, but on loose or scattered, the initial rush makes a huge difference, and speed allows more exploration.
Don't forget that +1speed also gices you a 50% more efficient survey ship, which means it can pop half more +25% research anomalies in the opening, which can make a difference too.
I still belive that Stellar Cartography should be easier to research. It's a dead end, on a path of not very useful early techs, and you can't even assign its special effect to another tech by modding it since the effect is tied to the id (I'd have to make it worth 1bc and have no prereq to use it).
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Speed picks also turn that initial transport in a +100% movement!!!! This is crucial if you do an early alpha strike on enemy planets. Especially deadly in a rare small or tiny universe where you can take out prospective enemies before they even start to develop.

Paul.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
In my past couple of games I've experimented with Stellar Cartography.
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I tried that a bit just to see. I found it a VERY BAD idea. I was busy researching the tech when a lot of arcean colony ships flew by my planets. I'd have been much better off building colony ships myself and sending them blindly as I usually do.
I also think that following an ai colony ship with an armed survey ship is one of the best tactics ever. You find the planet, kill the ship(s) and send your own. Free scouting. Of course, afterwards you're at war, but that's nothing a gift can't get rid of, and I happily gave phasers and med theory to incredible Drengins in my last game in exchange for having slaughtered 3 of their colony ships and seized two star systems for myself.